Good afternoon all,

It has been a while since I have sat down and thought about golf. Some would say I have been in hibernation, others would say I am living the normal busy life of a 24-year old. My mom would be very disappointed to hear I am spending my lunch break writing a golf article as opposed to immersing myself in the company-friendly marketing material.

Nevertheless, life goes on. I must focus my efforts towards things I enjoy, mother… so I will proceed to avoid the mind-numbing on-boarding training for the time being. Over the past 6 weeks I have been travelling, interviewing for a new job, and assessing life more broadly. During that time I couldn’t spend precious hours on my interests which include but are not limited to: researching golf statistics, exploring the waiver wire for my fantasy baseball team, playing golf (three rounds in the past 6 months is a real troublesome fact of life at this point in May). My one and done pool ranking has gone down the drain, my fantasy baseball team is battling but not very well at this moment, and my golf game is abysmal. Mind you, I went from an 8 index to a 1.3 index last summer so I have experienced the good life, albeit for a brief period of time.

However, one week ago I got back out on the course. My tee time was 9:45 AM. The morning began to the sound of the “playtime” alarm on my iPhone. For some reason, that particular sound is one that I welcome in the mornings. I arrived at the course, my home club around 6:45 AM. I proceeded to hit 50 yard chip shots on what we call “Short 10” at the club, subsequently hit 50 bunker shots at short (10 yards), medium (15-20), and long (20+) distances, then spent 45 minutes or so honing in on my irons. Always start with the 9 and proceed to my lower lofted clubs, finishing on my Taylormade M3 Driver. A short putting session followed where I used four tees as gates to hit a 10 foot putt repetitiously. This drill helps me get my alignment and pullback in order and also helps me focus before a round.

Fast-forwarding a bit, I ended up shooting 89. The par is 70. This was by far my worst round in over two years and it led me to believe I have a lot to improve on. The first of which will be driving. Below, please find a summary of the Top 5 Driving Tips from Me and My Golf. These guys are awesome, hope you enjoy.

Tip 1: Toe in the Bush

• club head focus through impact will increase speed and eliminate slice
• Greg Norman advice: go in the garden and hit a bush in the garden with the toe end of the club face
• Fully release the club and focus on getting your toe of the club to hit the “bag” in front of you
• Objective: golf bag, or anything, if you are hitting toe end to bag you will accomplish or aspire to accomplish
  • more power
  • a straighter ball flight
  • or have more draw on the ball
• move it in tight if you are worried about slicing the ball

Tip 2: Move Away Match Up

• good takeaway sets up for a good down swing
• Objective
  • body synchronized with the arms
  • good movement with the club
• Put golf club behind right foot (assuming right handedness) parallel to target line, and outside of toe line (3’14”)
  • ensuring club is on a good plane
  • focus on getting good width with lead shoulder
  • allow lead shoulder to move
  • complete turn

Tip 3: Load and Lift

• Golf ball (well forward) on the ground and club just inside your trail foot
• golf club under you running 90 degrees to the target line
• Benefits
  • bigger turn
  • use the ground
  • increase speed
  • optimize launch and spin
  • slice fix
• Working the golf club in order to match up with the golf club on the ground
• Feeling is lead shoulder over the club on the ground
• Lead foot comes up in the back swing
• If the lead heel gets into the air, allows pressure to load on the back leg and allows you to “slam” lead leg.
• Knee inwards and pointing behind the golf ball
• Slam the heel down on the start of the downswing
• Full sends happen when you do this- Rouge

Tip 4: Launch Pad

• Improper technique… in setup and trail hip gets really high and spine is toward target- this limits a good turn
• Benefits
  • great pivot
  • slice fix
  • optimize launch and spin
  • ball striking
  • less back spin
• take setup, right hand off and create better tilt. Slide down with the right hand
• Right hip is lower than the lead hip

Tip 5: Under the pipe

• working on a draw
• alignment stick is sticking up at 30 degrees and towards the target line
• Key is: not allowing steep angle
• You will hit alignment is you come over the top
• good visual aid: shallow club on the way down.
• Benefits
  • slice fix
  • optimize launch and spin
  • increase speed
• Can help the back swing as well, getting the club to work around the body

Link to video: Full send off the tee

Cheers,

Moulin Rouge